# Accident 20031013027509A: Piper PA23250, Cordsville, SC, October 13, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 13, 2003, 20:00 local time
- Place: Cordsville, SC
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: A1NA
- Location: 33.1608° N, 79.8350° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.1608&lon=-79.8350&mi=10
- Aircraft: N63942, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N63942-2015-05-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-23-250 (registry code 7102308, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-23-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA23250
- Reported engine: LYC IO540C4B5
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 6,500 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL04FA016](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04FA016) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031013027509A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON 11/13/03 LARRY GRAY DEPARTED (HTO) EAST HAMPTON, NY IN HIS PA-23-250 REGISTRATION N63942 AT AROUND 4PM AND FILED IFR DIRECT FOR (CHS) CHARLESTON, SC. AT 8PM (A LITTLE OVER 4HRS INTO THE FLIGHT) AS THE A/C DESCENDED FOR APPROACH TO RUNWAY 21 AT CHS THE A/C DISAPPEARED OFF THE RADAR SCREEN AT 2900' WITH NO VERBAL INDICATION TO AIR TRAFFIC OF ANY TROUBLE. THE A/C STRUCK THE GROUND (20NM NE OF CHS) IN A HEAVILY WOODED AREA (FRANCIS MARION FOREST) IN AN ALMOST VERTICAL NOSE DOWN POSITION WITH VERY LITTLE OVERHEAD CANOPY DAMAGE. THE A/C BURNT FROM POST CRASH FIRE. SEVERAL WITNESS STATEMENTS REVEALED THE A/C WAS TRAVELING IN A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION AT ABOUT 500' ABOVE THE GROUND WITH ONE ENGINE RUNNING AND BACKFIRING 1.4 MILES FROM IMPACT. ENGINES ARE TO BE TORE DOWN BY LYCOMING 11/12/03. AIR TRAFFIC AUDIO TAPES SENT TO THE NTSB LAB FOR ANALYSIS. PILOT HRS. IN MAKE AND MODEL AND LAST 90 DAYS CANNOT BE DETERMINED AT THIS TIME DUE TO DESTROYED RECORDS.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ATL04FA016](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04FA016), Oct 13, 2003: Piper PA-23-250 (N63942), Cordesville, SC, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent uncontrolled descent into trees and the ground. A factor was physical impairment.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.